Street Cry’s Legacy Cemented Thanks to Winx, Zenyatta

By Emily Shields 

If you remove two of the best mares of all time – Winx and Zenyatta – from the equation, Street Cry (Ire) still looks like a pretty spectacular sire. His son Street Sense won the Kentucky Derby (G1) and earned $4.3 million on the track. Standout sprinter Street Boss was a multiple grade 1 winner and has gone on to be a fantastic sire himself with the likes of Cathryn Sophia and Capo Bastone. Delta Prince just won a grade 1 at Keeneland on Friday to become a millionaire. New Year’s Day won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and is the sire of legitimate Kentucky Derby contender Maximum Security.

Add in the two mares, and Street Cry becomes one of the greats.

The son of Machiavellian, out of group 1-winner Helen Street (GB), was always a special horse. He broke his maiden at Del Mar in 2000 by seven lengths, then threw down some epic battles with flashy Bob Baffert runner Flame Thrower in graded races throughout the summer and fall. Third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Street Cry went on to win the Dubai World Cup (G1) in 2002 and took the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs by more than six lengths three months later. He retired with earnings over $5 million back when that was a bit more difficult than it is today.

Zenyatta came first, wowing California crowds with her come from behind style and narrow victories. She won her first 19 starts in a row, including 13 grade 1 races and two Breeders’ Cup events. The latter was a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic over males; a year later she tried to defend her crown but fell a head short in her lone defeat.

The silence blanketing Churchill Downs after the loss was as polar opposite as possible from the rafters shaking at Randwick in Australia when Winx won her 33^rdconsecutive race over the weekend. She retires with 25 group 1 victories, and although she was never unbeaten after losing early in her career, her streak of wins at the highest level is the greatest in modern history. Her greatest achievements include four straight Cox Plates.

Street Cry died early of neurological issues at only 16 in September, 2014. That was after Zenyatta, but still a year before Winx started her reign. It is staggering to think what might have been if he could have sired runners for another decade. But with the years he did have, he proved himself an immortal kind of sire.

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